A reunion that brought closure for a widow in Auburn, Calif. -- near Sacramento.

The case of the missing wedding band was solved Wednesday night when Darlene King was reunited with a 14-karat white-gold wedding band with five diamond flecks that belonged to her late husband, Thomas King.

"My husband, unfortunately, died this January," said Darlene King, 78. "The only thing I wish is that he was still alive so he could enjoy this moment with me."

The lost ring's journey home began three weeks ago when Shannon and Steve Callahan found it lodged in the passenger seat of their 2004 silver Pontiac Grand Am, which they bought in January 2012.

REPORTER

Victor Martinez

The El Paso Times first reported this story earlier this week, when Shannon Callahan called the newspaper looking for help finding the ring's owner.

The Callahans figured the ring's owner was from El Paso because the trunk of the Grand Am had a label from Crawford Auto Plaza in El Paso and, according to a Carfax report, it had only one owner.

"We bought two cars from Crawford and moved to California in 2009," King said. "We lived in El Paso from 1999 to July 2009. My husband was from El Paso, but we lived in St. Louis most of our married life."

The Callahans, who live in nearby Elverta, Calif., hand-delivered the ring to King in an ivory box Wednesday night.

"We didn't know what happened to the ring," King said.

Advertisement

"My husband had lost some weight and the ring was a little bit loose on his finger, but I'm sure he didn't think it would come off. He looked at his hand one day and didn't have his ring on. I thought it probably went down the drain."

Upon hearing that someone had found the ring, King at first did not believe it.

"I thought it was gone for good," she said. "The first thing I asked is if it was white gold or yellow gold, because if it was yellow, I knew it wasn't ours."

She described the ring perfectly all the way down to the size and the inscription inside the ring -- April 29, 1961, the date of their wedding. The couple celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in April 2011.

"We really thought it was a lost cause," King said. "Even when they found the ring and called me, I was skeptical that it was even ours. But when they began to tell us about its journey and they mentioned Crawford, that's what got me to thinking it could be ours. They had been looking for me for three weeks, and everybody knew about it except for me."

Shannon Callahan, who contacted the El Paso Times on Monday, credits the newspaper for getting the ball rolling.

"If it wasn't for the El Paso Times running this story, I would have never found her and she would never have gotten her husband's ring back," she said. "I am so relieved -- that was really special. The fact that Mr. King passed away in January, it brought tears to my eyes. It made the journey, from start to finish, all worth it because this ring meant a lot to her. My heart feels so good for them right now."

The story was picked up by The Associated Press and the Sacramento Bee, as well as several California television stations.

King said the ring is in a safe place now.

"I thought I would wear it on a chain around my neck for a few months then give it to my son," she said. "My son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter live in Portland, Ore. so I thought I would give it to him as keepsake from his father."

Victor R. Martinez may be reached at vmartinez@elpasotimes.com; 546-6128. Follow him on Twitter @vrmart.